To jump, or to spring into the air and then absorb impact as the body is brought back to the surface, is a very ballistic and advanced human movement. To explosively leave the ground at a high rate of speed and then to absorb the impact of landing is quite difficult, particularly to those who have not done this activity in a while. Jumping is seen in youth play, sports and some fitness routines. Maximal jumping (jumping as high/far as you can as fast as you can) is really only seen in play and sports. Most fitness routines use jumping as a conditioning modality. So, those that don’t jump must learn how to properly take off and, more importantly, how to land properly (since a majority of non-contact injuries are seen when the body absorbs forces). Those who do jump, must learn how to maximally jump, once again with focus on takeoff and landing. Just like all of human movement, there are many ways to jump. You can jump in any direction imaginable, taking off from varying bases of support and landing on various bases of support. Here is a simple progression of a squat jump.

Box Jumps-

Jumping up on a box is a great way to start the jumping progressions. Jumping up on to something lessens the forces of gravity by landing at your peak, where regular jumps have you jumping to your peak and then falling back to earth. Always choose a box size where you are able to jump and land with solid form. Using a box will put emphasis on a proper take off…drive your hips down and back as you swing your arms back, and quickly explode upward (and forward to land on the box) while swinging the arms upward/forward. Try to get full extension of the lower limbs (triple extension). Always land lightly on top of the box (land like a ninja!). This will help teach your body to absorb impact.

Box Jump Down-

Jumping from the top of the box to the ground would be the second step in the progression. This eliminates the takeoff/force production portion of the jump and emphasizes the force absorption of the land. As mentioned earlier, teaching the body how to land is more important than teaching it how to jump. Someone who can land properly can avoid injury and react better. When jumping down from the box you are basically just stepping off the box. When you land you want to do so as soft as possible (back to being a ninja….no one should hear you land). To do this you should “sink” into the landing and end up in the Crouching/Athletic position.

Squat Jump-

Putting it all together. Jumping from the floor and landing on the floor means applying and absorbing forces. Emphasis is on both the take off and the landing (see above). These should be done as sets of one to emphasize starting from a standing position, driving the hips down/back and then exploding upwards as high as possible, then landing as quietly as possible. Do repetitive squat jumps can cause room for error in all aspects of the jump. As we progress repetitive squat jumps will be more appropriate but in the initial progression phases we want to be strict on form.

Another step in the progressions is to vary the base of support in which one takes off and lands. Here are some progressions:

Double leg take off, double leg land

Single leg take off, double leg land

Double leg take off, single leg land

Single leg take off, Single leg land

Jumping can be a daunting task for many. The farther removed someone has been from jumping the more daunting it becomes. However, with proper progressions of jumping this task will become more manageable.

Before we walk we must crawl. Before we crawl we must make sure our body is prepared. Crawling is an activity that many of us haven’t done since we were children. Once we learned to walk as our primary mean of manual transport we only revisited crawling during time of play. As we grew up our forms of play changed and rarely was crawling apart of this play. Even though we were once able to crawl with very little issue, we need to progress back to this primitive movement pattern.

Crawling requires strength, stability and mobility in the hands, wrists, shoulders and core. If someone has an issue within these areas, that issue must be addressed first before the actual progression begins. In the beginning of the progression the crawl will not quite look like a crawl, but rather derivatives of the crawl that match this definition: “To advance in a prone or supine position where hands and feet are in contact with the ground.”

The progression of the crawl depends on which variation of a crawl you would like to do. The amount of progression and how long you stay in each progression will depend on the clients starting point and ability level. Since there are so many variations of crawl I will start pretty basic to stay within the scope of a blog format. I will use the lateral bear crawl as an example.

Here are some pictures with a brief description of each progression.

Quadruped Position– on your hands and knees with hands under shoulders and knees as wide as hands.

Straight Arm Plank Position– at the top of a push-up position. Hands should be under shoulders and body line should be straight.

Quadruped Single Arm/Leg Reach– In quadruped position. Lift arm of ground and support body weight with three points of contact. Then go to the other arm, then the right leg and finish with the left leg.

Quadruped Bird Dog– Lift opposite arm and leg at the same time and support body weight with two points of contact.

Straight Arm Plank Single Arm/Leg Reach– in a straight arm plank position (yes, I realize this image is a regular plank position but I couldn’t find an image for a straight arm position) lift one leg off the ground to support yourself with three points of contact. Lift the other leg, then the right arm and finish with the left.

Straight Arm Bird Dog– In a straight arm plank position lift opposite arm and opposite leg to support yourself with two points of contact.

Knee Push-ups– Support yourself with your hands and knees and do a push up. Maintain a straight body line from shoulder to knees.

Straight Leg Push-ups – support yourself with your hands and knees and do a push up. Maintain a straight body line from shoulder to ankles.

Lateral Knee Push-ups– (Sorry, couldn’t find a picture for this one, but look below at the lateral straight leg push-up.) In a knee push-up position, step you right hand and knee to the right and do a push-up. Recover your left hand and knee to your right hand and knee and do a push-up. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the starting point.

Lateral Straight Leg Push-ups– In a straight arm push-up position, step you right hand and foot to the right and do a push-up. Recover your left hand and foot to your right hand and foot and do a push-up. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the starting point.

Lateral Bear Crawl– Get into a bear crawl position (hands under shoulder, knees tucked under hips with feet in contact to the ground). Step your right hand and right foot to the right side and then recover your left hand and foot to the right. Continue this pattern for a determined distance and then return to the start. (The picture that best represents this is the bottom guy)

For a video of the progressions check out the Pursuit Institute facebook page.

As we age, as we become more sedentary, and as we become more specialized in our movements we develop restriction patterns. Over our lifetime certain muscles may get tight while others get weak. We start to compensate in our movements and those compensations perpetuate this cycle of tight and weak muscles. Eventually there is break down in the system of movement. When there is break down inefficiencies and injuries occur.

Before entering any program, one should be properly screened. This may be even truer for the Primitive Initiative® because the program is designed around normal human movement patterns. Movement patterns that potentially have not been done since a person was a child. Not only do we have to be concerned with someone’s ability and preparation for such movements, but we must also be concerned of what a person just physically can’t do. If a person is restricted they are unable to move normally. It’s an issue of can’t and not “this is hard because I haven’t done this in a while”.

Because of this we must first eliminate restrictions of movement and teach the Primitive Initiative® training in a progressive manner. I call this the foundation phase, or a more familiar term to most will be the General Prep portion in the Preparatory Phase of a Periodization scheme. Regardless of what we call it the goal is the same: to prepare the body for the work ahead. To lay a solid foundation so that when higher intensity training is added the body will be able to handle it.

To start this we should do a functional assessment. I can’t emphasize enough how important a functional assessment is before beginning a program (see my previous blog “The Value of Functional Assessments). Movement screens will help identify areas of dysfunction. Exercises will then be given to help eliminate such areas. The number of restrictions a person has will dictate the length of time they dedicate to these exercises. The more restrictions the longer this phase of training will last.

While the largest part of eliminating restrictions will take place in the foundation phase, these exercises will always be a part of the training at varying degrees. To have quality movement, one must continually maintain corrective exercises. These can be a part of the warm-up, as their own circuit, or added throughout the workout.

Outside of eliminating restrictions we must prepare the body to move like it hasn’t done in years (because it probably hasn’t). We will work a lot with isometric holds, slow eccentric contractions, and stabilization, balance, mobility and core exercises during this phase. Teaching technique of movements and what the body should be doing will be crucial. Moving slow to fast will help this, as well as knowing/teaching the proper progressions of the 14 fundamental movements.

Without a solid foundation, a million dollar home will collapse. This is true of any training program (cliché I know….but it is pretty much law at this point). The Primitive Initiative® aims to add human movement patterns back into exercise to extend peoples quality of life. If the body isn’t used to human movement patterns and they are introduced too quickly we risk the potential of reducing quality of life. If we don’t prepare the body, then the body will break.

Last week I talked about the 14 fundamental movement patterns that all humans should be exposed to. Primitive Initiative® aims to incorporate those movements into our training programs in the most efficient ways possible to maximize results. One way is to place the movements in a specific order within the workout to ensure quality of movement. I call this Energy System Sequencing. In order to explain what I mean by this we must have a quick review of our energy systems.

Our energy systems are responsible for providing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to our body. ATP is basic fuel for muscular contraction and can be supplied directly from the body or derived from glucose, glycogen or fatty acid substrates. The level of intensity and duration of the work will dictate where the body will pull a majority of its energy from. It is important to keep in mind that all energy systems are working at the same time. There is just one that is the dominant system. Here is a rundown on the energy systems:

The Energy Systems

Alactic Acid or Phosphagen Energy System– An anaerobic energy system. Uses ATP available in muscle for immediate energy. This system provides energy for up to 7 seconds. So movements that would you use this system are as follows:

Glycolytic or Fast Glycolysis Energy System– An anaerobic energy system. Makes ATP using glucose and glycogen as a substrate. This energy system will become involved at high work intensities once the alactic energy system become depleted. Provides energy for up to 90 seconds. So movements that would you use this system are as follows:

Max Strength/Hypertrophy: Max/mod Effort, Moderate amount of time.

75-90% of max power. 15-90s/set, 1:3 to 1:5 rest.

Example exercises: Power lifts, bodyweight exercises, complex lifts

Aerobic or Oxidative Energy System– An aerobic energy system. Makes ATP using fat, glucose and glycogen. Efficient at producing energy but cannot keep up with the demand when body is operating at high intensities. So movements that would you use this system are as follows:

So now that we have reviewed the energy systems I will go into my explanation of Energy System Sequencing (ESS). ESS is simply structuring training on how we humans utilize/deplete primary energy systems and use muscular contractions through training. That is to say we order the exercises that we are doing from fast to slow movements. We start the workout with explosive movements. For instance, we could start with a medicine ball throw. The goal is to throw hard and fast for minimal amount of repetitions. Once one set is complete we rest a few minutes….just enough time that we can throw the ball as fast and as hard as we did in the first set (see above for the work to rest ratios). With the appropriate amount of rest fatigue does not come into play so we are capable of exerting the same effort. Once fatigue does come into play and prevents us from exerting that same force we will move on to exercises that can be performed with moderate effort. We can move onto, say, a pull-up (a derivative of a climb…..we will touch more on this in later blogs). For most, this will be an appropriate exercise for this energy system, but for those who can crank out 100s of these bad boys, we may want to use this in the next energy system. Once we go through our sets, reps, and rest at the pull ups we then move onto more of a conditioning drill like shuttle runs (transit). This will then work within the last energy system.

Obviously this is a very simplistic example of how this works, but the goal, just like adding primitive movement patterns to the routine, is to incorporate all energy systems in our training. Any time we start to neglect a movement or an energy system, that particular movement and energy system will quickly become our downfall.

As mentioned in the previous blog the Primitive Initiative® is a movement oriented training model based on 14 fundamental movement patterns arranged in a specific sequence to maximize results. It combines biomechanical training with energy system sequencing to provide real life fitness for real life movements. This can be an “end all be all” program or can be supplemented into current training programs. Because this is a real life program it is specific to each person. If someone likes to do bodybuilding, power lifting, distance running etc. many of these movement patterns can still be implemented in each person’s training regimen for better results and less injuries.

So let’s get started……..what is “Biomechanical Training”? Well, that’s just a fancy way of me saying human movement training. I have identified 14 human movement patterns that are common throughout life. As young children we incorporate many of these as we learn to move and play. As we become older we either begin to become sedentary or very specific in the nature of our training. In either situation, we start to lose or neglect certain movement patterns. This gets worse and worse as we go through our life. The biomechanical training is designed to help reestablish the mobility and movement of the early years in our life.

Here are the 14 movement patterns that I have grouped into 3 categories:

Manipulative:

Throwing/Catching: To propel an object through the air from a limb and then to grasp and hold onto an object as it propels back to the body.

Picking up: Bringing an object up off of the ground and then bringing it back to the ground.

Pushing- To press against an object with force in order to drive or impel in the direction of the force.

Pulling- To exert force upon an object so as to cause or tend to cause motion toward the force.

Chopping- To make a quick stroke or repeated stroke in an arcing motion.

Jumping/Landing: To spring into the air and then absorbing impact as the body is brought back to the surface.

Getting up: Bringing the body up off of the ground from a laying position to an upright position.

Crawling: To advance in a prone or supine position where hands and feet are in contact with the ground.

Climbing: Moving suspended from the ground with gradual continued process.

Crouching: To lower the body stance while bending at the legs.

Variable:

Transit: An act of passing through or over terrain.

Dynamic Methods- Activities that are fluid, connected, and skilled in their patterns. (Ok, I will admit this my catch all category for those movements that were hard for me to classify. Things like dancing, tumbling and fighting will fall in this category)

Some of these are self-explanatory, some are not. I will use future posts to further explore each movement and how to progress people through the movements. Much like any program design, progression is key. After all, if people have come to a point where they have not done a certain movement pattern since their childhood they are just as likely to injure themselves in a gym setting doing it as they would in a real life setting. That is why they need to be progressed. This we will leave for later, but for now, try to absorb the movements and look at your own programs to see what they might be missing. Next week I will discuss another fancy word: Energy System Sequencing.